Update from Sarah Jane, October 4, 2018: Just gonna go straight to Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter), who tweeted the following late last night.
Ok. Let’s recap what’s going on, since Twitter is chaotic ATM. 1. McConnell just filed cloture. Here’s what that means: [She retweeted Jake Tapper (@JakeTapper) saying:]
Mitch McConnell has filed cloture on the Brett Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court — expect cloture vote Friday and final vote on confirmation Saturday
2. This is despite the fact no Senators have seen the FBI report – yet. They’re not seeing it until tomorrow morning. The report is being released to Senators/staffers ONLY. [She retweeted NPR (@NPR) saying:]
Only one copy of the report is being made available. Senators — and a limited number of aides with security clearances — will be allowed to read the report in a secure room at the Capitol.
3. The FBI investigation has been completed w/ over 40 people not being interviewed. We cannot forget this as we’re calling our Senators. [She retweeted NBCNews (@NBCNews) saying:]
More than 40 people with potential information for the investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh have not been contacted for interviews by the FBI, has learned. [That tweet included a link to this story:]
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/dozens-potential-sources-information-have-not-been-contacted-fbi-kavanaugh-n916146?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma
4. So here’s what we should all do next: – Do not assume the FBI report will make a difference at this point. Even with the expanded scope, the entire thing thing has come off as a sham. E.g. Dr. Ford has not been interviewed. [She included a link to this CNBC story:]
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/02/fbi-does-not-plan-to-interview-kavanaugh-accuser-christine-blasey-ford.html
a. For those of you with Dem Senators who have confirmed they will vote NO on Kavanaugh and will NOT flip (e.g. Harris; Casey) You CAN call and affirm their stances one final time. It doesn’t have to elaborate, but template script here if you need it.
Remember, the rule of thumb is to call when you have new information to add to previous calls. Your new info is McConnell teeing up the vote. However. IF you’ve called/emailed/faxed, your time is better spent rallying your personal networks to call. Everyone you know.
b. For those of you represented by red state Democrats (Tester/Manchin/Heitkamp) – Get Tester to affirm his no vote, like Donnelly did this morning. I doubt Tester will flip, but affirmation is critical right now. Don’t take chances.
For Manchin and Heitkamp: remind them there are many reasons to vote no to Kavanaugh, as listed by Tester and Donnelly in their statements. – For Manchin: he praised women in latest statement for coming forward. Remind him, supporting Kavanaugh => doing the opposite. Scripts.
Script for Joe Manchin (only call if you live in West Virginia):
Script for Heidi Heitkamp (only call if you live in North Dakota):
c. For those represented by GOP senators who will vote to confirm, even if Kavanaugh stands in the middle of the street, screaming about beer: Call anyway. You’re in a unique position to give them complete hell. They have to know we’re watching and we WILL NOT FORGET. Script.
Script for the 40 + bullheaded GOP Senators, so you can give them hell (but only if you live in their home states, please):
This is ESPECIALLY if any of your Senators are in Senate Class 2: The GOP have the weak map next time around. Let them know you won’t forget. (You can’t talk elections to an elected/FEC violation. But you can STRONGLY imply it.)
Senate Class 2 are those Senators who are up for re-election in 2020. Far more Republicans are due than are Democrats. Those Republicans are:
Lamar Alexander of Tennessee
Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
Susan Collins of Maine
John Cornyn of Texas
Tom Cotton of Arkansas
Steve Daines of Montana
Michael Enzi of Wyoming
Joni Ernst of Iowa
Cory Gardner of Colorado
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi
James Inhofe of Oklahoma
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
David Perdue of Georgia
James Risch of Idaho
Pat Roberts of Kansas
Mike Rounds of South Dakota
Ben Sasse of Nebraska
Dan Sullivan of Arkansas
Thom Tillis of North Carolina
d. For those of you represented by Collins/Murkowski/Flake: Nothing has changed from this morning. All of this is still being rushed through. – For Collins, remind her Julie Swetnick didn’t get an interview. Collins wanted one. [She linked to a Maine newspaper story supporting that point:]
https://www.pressherald.com/2018/10/01/sen-collins-wants-swetnick-interviewed-as-part-of-broader-investigation-into-kavanaugh/
– And not only did Julie Swetnick NOT get an FBI interview, Senate Judiciary slut-shamed her to boot. Ask Collins if she’s really okay with this? [She included a link to a WaPo story supporting that point:]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republicans-on-senate-panel-release-explicit-statement-about-kavanaugh-accusers-sex-life/2018/10/02/714d8abc-c685-11e8-9b1c-a90f1daae309_story.html?utm_term=.707d62388dd4
– For Lisa Murkowski: She said this AM Trump’s comments were wrong. She said earlier this week, this is about believing the woman. Tell her nothing has changed. If this was about believing women, a full investigation would have been performed. [She included a link to a KTUU story supporting that point:]
https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Murkowski-Trumps-remarks-on-Kavanaugh-accuser-wrong-unfortunate-495109831.html
– For Jeff Flake: Look, I don’t trust Jeff Flake. But I have to hope, if enough of his constituents call and shame him, he’ll develop a conscience. Call and remind him, he questioned Kavanaugh’s temperament. That’s concrete. [She included a link to this Atlantic story:]
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/10/jeff-flake-criticizes-supreme-court-nominee-kavanaugh/571915/
She followed this with a script for Senator Jeff Flake (call only if you live in Arizona):
…a script for Senator Lisa Murkowski (call only if you live in Alaska):
…and a script for Senator Susan Collins (only call if you are in Maine):
But wait! There’s more!
5. If you’re a DC resident who wants to get involved, follow and contact , sharpish. They help deliver letters for constituents to critical senators. This is another way to help facilitate contact to key swing votes, even if they don’t represent you.
If you want to SEND a letter to , go to: and they will hand deliver a paper copy in DC. (And please thank them!)
6. If you’ve done ALL of these things and need a outlet? Focus on these key Senate Dem races [The following are Twitter handles for 10 Democratic Senators and Democratic candidates for Senate. Restore the ‘@’ to get their Twitter handles]: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Remember. Judicial nominees are voted on by the Senate. Flipping the Senate: – Stops these judicial nominations – Strips Mitch McConnell of his power ASAP. This is the fastest way of doing.
Guide.
And if you want to donate to key Senate races? set up a handy way of doing it here. Join the 5,772 who’ve already donated. [She included this link]:
Our jobs over the next few days is to BOMBARD WITH CALLS/EMAILS/FAXES. However you can. Check here for ways to find out which offices to call. (Or you can just google “Senator” and “contact”)
As usual, call tips. * Don’t call Senators who don’t represent you. * At this point, it doesn’t matter if you call DC or district offices. Just try to through however you can. Try EVERY number. * If you can’t call, email/fax/use . Just make contact. [She included this tip sheet for leaving voicemail for Congressfolk:]
Don’t give up. Don’t despair. There are more of us than them. But we need all hands on deck NOW. Please don’t sit this out. Don’t assume a Justice Kavanaugh can be impeached. We need YOU to stop him. [She’s right, you know.]
If you tweet about your calls, hashtag your tweets with . will boost. Let others know who’s picking up, who to ask for, which numbers have space in their VMs. It’s critical we pool all information possible right now.
Ok, got all that? Now I’m throwing you into a thread by Ben Wikler (@BenWikler) of MoveOn, who has info on protests. All of the below is from his current pinned tweet, which he sent on Oct 2. Check both @Celeste_Pewter’s feed and his feed on Twitter to stay on top of the Kavanaugh situation.
Furious about Kavanaugh? Don’t just sit there. We need your power. The truth is, there’s a LOT you can do. We may only have four days until the final vote, and your voice is needed now. This is a thread about what’s coming, and how you can help. Please follow along and share. 1/
What’s next with Kavanaugh? On Wednesday, McConnell sets wheels in motion by filing for cloture. Senate rules require an intervening day before cloture vote—so that vote will be Friday. Then 30 hours of debate & final confirmation vote as soon as Saturday night. Time is SHORT.
What about the FBI report? WSJ says it could end by Wed. Many potential corroborating witnesses won’t be interviewed—nor Dr. Blasey Ford, nor Kavanaugh. Once background report is updated, only Senators will get to see it. Don’t bet on it to end this fight. [He included this link to a story from The Hill:]
https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/409516-mcconnell-says-only-senators-will-see-fbis-kavanaugh-report
So, what can you do to stop Kavanaugh? How can you help? First, VIGILS WEDNESDAY NIGHT. Nationwide. 64 so far & growing fast. Find one here, or register a new one: . We’ll help recruit. Let’s make these powerful. Again, —pls share. [Not including the link because you’re reading this on Thursday. I’m also leaving out subsequent tweets about specific Wednesday vigils for the same reason.]
Other than Wed night vigils, what can you do? First: CALL YOUR SENATORS. Call volumes are going through the roof. But unlike w health care, the other side is mobilizing too. Which means your calls are even more vital. 202-224-3121. [He retweeted this message from Liz Ruskin (@lruskin)] Sen. says the volume of calls from Alaskans on Kavanaugh is unprecedented. Deluge is larger than before the health care vote. “All the voicemail boxes are are literally filled within the first hour,” she says.
Call your senators to say no to Kavanaugh—but don’t just call the switchboard. And don’t give up if the line is busy or voicemail box is full. Senators have lots of offices. Find them all at . Here’s Susan Collins, to take one totally random example: [He included a screenshot which I can’t reproduce]
Senators employ staff assistants to answer the phone, check if callers are real constituents, then tally their positions. How many support Kavanaugh? How many oppose? Most offices circulate the call tallies to entire staff + senator every day. Your calls are counted. They count.
If you don’t like talking on the phone, or it’s tough for you to call, that doesn’t mean you don’t have a voice. One quick thing to do is DM or go to or text “resist” to 50409. It’ll help you write a message & send it as a fax or letter.
You know what’s even better than calling/tweeting/faxing/writing? Stopping by your senator’s offices in person. This is the week to do it. Grab a friend or ten and stop by on Wed, Thu, & Fri. Find local address @ . Staff are friendly! Make a plan & go!
There’s a lot you can do from whatever state you live in. But if you’re within driving or flying or kayaking distance of the Capitol, I have a request: COME TO DC. There’s a TON to do, led by & . To plug in, sign up w this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfe1qMxy2BFypszJoc5DgiH6YEz1KKsLWR_R8VwfcRqZWWPJw/viewform
[Leaving out a tweet that’s now obsolete]
Speaking of heroes. Remember when met on a plane & asked him to be a hero? Remember (in a shirt!) & talking to Flake on the elevator last week? Learn to do what they did. Trainings 3x/daily if you come to DC.
The atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building in DC has been renamed the People’s Atrium. It’s where folks are gathering. Bird-dogging trainings are happening daily at 8:30am, noon, and 4pm. On Tuesday, bird-doggers spoke to more than *60 senators.* Come help reach them all.
Want to get trained as a bird-dogger? It’s a skill that will last you a lifetime. is coordinating the thrice-daily trainings. Help them help you by signing up at advance here: … and follow for realtime updates.
If you’re in DC, bring some food and coffee to the folks in the People’s Atrium. And each day at 10am and 5:30pm, head out with the folks from your state to visit your home-state senators’ offices to register your feelings about Kavanaugh with a drop-by.
This THURSDAY [That’s today, people] in DC, folks gather at 12:30pm at Kavanaugh’s current courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave NW, and then at 12:30, is leading a march to the court he wants to join—followed by rally at SCOTUS. This will be big. will keep you posted; follow her.
Thursday is also a national youth and student day of action, with organizing led by and . Youth & students will march to Senate buildings to visit key offices. Follow them for more info. As says, the young people will win.
FRIDAY, as on Wed & Thu, there’ll be 8:30/12/4 bird-dogging trainings, 10am and 5:30pm DC office walk-ins—and probably a lot more, still in development. Ditto for Saturday. If the Senate votes, you know we’ll be protesting. So make a plan to get your butt to DC this weekend.
Is there anything else you can do to stop Kavanaugh? Yes. There is more you can do to stop Kavanaugh. Pull out your credit card. To fight a justice who supports unlimited money in politics, time to put some money into politics. It’s a stick, it’s a carrot, & it’s organizer fuel.
The fund for Susan Collins’s 2020 Democratic Senate opponent—whoever that might be—is up to $1,787,311 in pledges from 63,023 people… to be collected ONLY IF Collins votes yes on Kavanaugh. Give to it here. And spread the word. [He included this link:]
https://www.crowdpac.com/campaigns/387413/either-sen-collins-votes-no-on-kavanaugh-or-we-fund-her-future-opponent
Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana, was undeclared on Kavanaugh. Last Friday morning, he came out against. For this act of bravery, he’s certain to be targeted by the right. So we’ve raised nearly $100k to show him we have his back. Chip in here: [He included this link:]
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/moveondonnelly?akid=217353.8237109.3NmZwC&rd=1&refcode=217353&t=2
The organizing at the Capitol and around the country requires energy and sacrifice. It also costs money. Here’s a fund specifically to support to organize with folks at the Capitol, like the women who confronted Flake in the elevator. Donate! [He included this link:]
https://www.crowdpac.com/campaigns/388295/support-the-heroes-who-convinced-flake
There are so many groups doing amazing work in this fight. Support & follow the ones listed above, plus & many more. Thx to all.
And no matter how *this* fight ends, the fight continues. There’s a midterm election coming up that could determine what happens to another SCOTUS seat, or two, or three. (Or none, let’s hope.) Sign up to canvass for Dems at .
And while you’re committing to make a difference, take a sec to sign up to volunteer during the last weekend of this election at—where else?—, a joint effort by all your favorite orgs to turn out every blue vote we possibly can.
BTW, have I mentioned that Maine is important right now? It is SO important. Other important states: Alaska, West Virginia, Arizona, and let’s throw in Nevada because Dean Heller should be held accountable. Call your friends & relatives in these states, and ask them to speak up.
Here’s the underlying message of this giant thread. You have power. For the next four days, you have power. If all of us wield that power, we have a chance to win a fight with impossibly vast stakes. Don’t just scroll through Twitter. Show up. Fight back. The time, folks, is now.
So, you heard Celeste and Ben. The answer, as always, is to call, and urge friends and family to call.
If you have not called your Senators yet, now is the time. If you’ve called before, call again.
Only call your own Senators. Urge your friends and family members to call their Senators.
And yes, you have to pick up the phone and call, and I’m serious about only calling your own Senators.
Be polite. Always, be polite. Practice what you want to say before you say it. Get it right, master your emotions, then call.
This is as serious as it’s ever been, people. Only a large, loud outcry from us has a chance of stopping this nomination.
Please honor the bravery of Dr Christine Blasey Ford by making those calls, and then urge friends and family to do the same.
To stay on top of things, check the Twitter feeds of @Celeste_Pewter for news on what you can do; @ICalledMyReps to see others acting alongside you; and @BenWikler for news about potential protests.
Also, if you live in or near Washington, D.C., a rally dubbed Brett Kava-NAH, Just Say No will take place Thursday, October 4, at 12:30 pm EST at the Barrett Prettyman Courthouse. Several celebrities have committed to appear. Bookmark the link below and watch for updated info (you can also register for updates):
https://www.2022243121.com
You can also monitor the #CancelKavanaugh hashtag.
Lastly, let me repeat: All of this has been exhausting and enraging. While Flake successfully demanding an extension of no more than one week to let the FBI do additional work on Kavanaugh’s background check is a good thing, Kavanaugh could still get confirmed.
Continue to call every day, and continue to urge friends and family to do so. But please start mentally preparing yourself for the possibility that Kavanaugh proceeds.
You can show love for Celeste Pewter in many ways.
You can follow her on Twitter: @Celeste_Pewter
You can tweet about calling your Senators, using the #ICalledMyReps hashtag.
You can follow @ICalledMyReps on Twitter.
You can adopt a vulnerable incumbent Democratic Senator by checking out The Road to 2018, an organization Pewter created. Read about it here:
https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/08/08/support-the-road-to-2018-which-defends-democratic-senators-2/
You can follow The Road to 2018 on Twitter: @Roadto18
And you can subscribe to her peerless newsletter, It’s Time to Fight:
http://itstimetofight.weebly.com
One Thing You Can Do 
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